Temper, temper
by Evil Azurill
Summary: Rick goes a little overboard when the new farmer's chicken, Kiki, passes away. Claire soon realizes, though, as Rick admits his crossing the line that it's the tremendous pressure he's been put under recently that makes him act this way. Rick x Claire
1. Chapter 1

" How could you be so careless?!"

He was madder than I'd ever seen him. I tried to choke out some comeback, but I was too upset already and he certainly wasn't making me feel any better. Of course I had expected a scolding from him, since he was the one who sold me the chicken in the first place, but he was being such a...jerk.

" You know, you can't put off your responsibilities when you're in charge of something else's life!" he continued. Carter gave me an embarrassed look, almost as if he were apologizing for Rick's behavior, and started to walk back towards the church. I had explained to them both what had happened, but it had only seemed to register with the father. It was almost like Rick had completely ignored what I'd said. " I should have known that you weren't ready for animals yet."

" You don't have to be so _mean_, Rick!" I finally stood up and yelled at him.

" You don't have to be so...irresponsible!" he retorted.

I was still crying, and I hated myself for not being able to stop. Not only had Carter seen me this way, and heard us fighting, but I knew that plenty of other people must have seen it by now, one of the disadvantages of living in such a small town. I was sure that Jeff or Sasha were probably watching us from the Supermarket window. Or Karen...who would more than likely sit and console Rick later on, reassuring his beliefs that I have little regard for the lives of the animals he loves so much. Doug had been coming down the street, and once he heard Rick yelling, politely pretended not to notice and took the long way around to the church.

Those who hadn't seen us would hear about it from their friends. I wasn't thrilled about becoming the town gossip.

" I told you," I took a step towards him, talking calmly and beginning to gather my composure again. " Everything was closed for the races, Rick...I couldn't get any medicine."

" Well why didn't you come find me?" he held out his hands as if I'd made the mother of all stupid mistakes. " I would have gotten it for you."

" I couldn't find you."

" Why didn't you ask Popuri? She was at the races with Kai. Or were you too busy having a good time? Or maybe," he laughed, crossing his arms, " you just didn't want to interrupt the happy couple, right?"

" I didn't go to the races! I was at home, trying to take care of my animals! You're impossible!!!"

I pushed him out of my way just a little too hard, and he almost lost his balance. I'd had just about enough of him, and I ran back to my farm.

I sighed and wiped my face as I knelt in the corner of my chicken coop, with Toto in my lap. She hadn't produced any eggs today, and I knew it was because she was depressed.

" I'm sorry." I muttered, stroking her feathers. She was fully matured now, but she still felt so soft...just like her mother. I truly regretted what had happened to Kiki. I hadn't anticipated the storm, and I couldn't even get out of my door because the wind had been so severe. I was lucky that Kiki was the only one to get sick...but I was dismayed. I'd done everything I could to get the medicine the next day, but, another disadvantage of small down living, everything had closed down so that everyone could enjoy the races.

It seemed like the most important people to me at the moment Kiki needed them the most had vanished from the face of the earth. Then, when Kiki died that night, all of a sudden I was in the bad.

" She looks pretty lonely."

I jumped at the sound of another voice, the last thing I had expected to hear sitting alone with Toto in the chicken coop. I looked up to the entrance and there he was.

" Didn't you have enough fun tearing me up beside the clinic?" I glared at him. I couldn't even pretend I was happy to see him, then, and I think he knew he was treading on thin ice. He held up his hands in a 'no offense, I surrender' kind of gesture.

" I didn't mean anything by what I said...I was just saying that she doesn't look very happy. I, um, went to the door but you weren't in the house, so I figured I'd check out here before I left. Can I come in?"

I wanted more than anything to tell him no, but I made the mistake of looking him in the face right as I was about to say it. He looked softer, like a completely different Rick, not the one who had just chewed me out in public.

" You know what I should say."

" I know." He spoke softly. " But I'm hoping you won't. I'll only take a minute, Claire..."

" Well, you can at least step in out of the rain."

Of course, being his typical self, Rick took this to mean that everything was going to be ok between us soon enough, and came to sit right beside me.

" After you left," he started, taking off his glasses to wipe away the droplets that had collected on the lenses, " Elli ran out the door of the clinic and gave me a real talking to."

" Elli?" I asked. I was a little surprised. I hadn't thought she would do that kind of thing, but I had noticed her becoming sweeter and sweeter to me during the past month I had started spending more time with Rick. I think it was because she realized I wasn't looking to rendezvous with Doctor like she had first suspected.

" Yeah. She said I was a real cad, for acting like I did, and called me all kinds of other names."

" So...you came here?"

" No, that just made me madder, so I went back to my house...right away my mother and Popuri started telling me the same things Elli had shouted at me. I went to take a walk to clear my head, but when I passed by your farm, I realized I couldn't leave this the way I did. You know, with...you."

" That was nice of you to try and make things right." I nodded, but didn't say anything more. The truth was it was kind of awkward sitting with him. I couldn't just be dandy and pretend the whole incident had never happened. It hurt me to lose my first animal, even without Rick's verbal abuse and making a spectacle of my failure.

" I have a temper sometimes." he said hesitantly, giving me a sheepish look out of the corner of his eyes. " A bad one. I guess that's the reason everyone keeps a safe distance from me, in case you hadn't noticed it..."

He laughed softly, quietly, like he was making himself seem amused at a joke that wasn't funny in the slightest. I nodded. At first, I had thought, making an excuse is exactly what you're doing, Rick, but there was something in the way he had mentioned his hot temper to me that made me feel like this had happened a few times before, with someone else.

" I, uh, didn't come here to deliver a sob story though. I was upset about Kiki, but the reason I acted the way I did this morning was because of something else. I came here to tell you that I'm sorry for taking all my problems out on you. I'll get going now."

He rubbed the back of his neck as he started to stand up, but I put a hand on his arm to prevent him from doing that just yet.

If he left now, then things would probably be tense and quick between us for a long time to come, and I didn't want to ruin what I had been trying to do for the past few weeks. Although Rick had first come off as pushy and overbearing to me, just like I assumed the rest of the town thought of him after all this time, after getting to know him a little after befriending Popuri (which was unavoidable, since he tried so hard to be involved in her life), I had started to genuinely enjoy his company.

" Would you come in the house, first?" I asked. " You're soaking wet, and I'm still the same way, from this morning...I mean, you'll get sick, you know? And whose going to take care of Popuri and Lillia if that happens?"

I forced a smile, and the look on his face made me glad I did. It was like I had given him a reprieve of some kind, like he was so glad to know he hadn't completely screwed something up for once.

" Yeah. I can come in for a second."

I put Toto down beside me on top of the hay and followed him out of the chicken coop. We ran through the rain, despite already being drenched, to get to the door of my home.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Hello! I'm sorry I failed to put an intro or disclaimer on the first chapter. Anyway, here's part 2 of 3!!! Expect chapter 3 to be up sometime in the next couple of days, as Claire finally finds out what the root of all this trouble is. Anyhow, I hope you enjoy this, leave lots of reviews so I can realize what I need to improve on (or just tell me if you like it or not ), and keep on checking for part 3!! Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon or any of it's characters.

Chapter 2

I was beginning to worry that he had gotten sick anyways, despite my efforts to let him warm up and dry off in my house after he stopped by to apologize.

It had been three days since Rick and I had our 'falling out', and it had been three days since I had last seen him. Of course, even though I knew we had set things straight and we were in good standing once again, the fact that no one else had seen us together since the morning after the horse races only fueled the rumors that we were in the middle of a vicious feud. Unfortunately for me, there was nothing the residents of Mineral Town loved more than a good piece of gossip. Even if they loved you to death, the chances were still good, hell, maybe even better, that they would talk about you when they didn't think you were listening.

I knew exactly what was going on from two nights ago, when I walked into the inn for a drink and a hush fell over the room for the first few seconds after the door closed behind me. Rick hadn't been there that night, and when I saw Karen sitting on a barstool with a smirk on her face, I realized that I had found the main perpetrator of the rumor, besides Manna, of course. It was easy to tell Karen was enjoying this; though we had put on a forced niceness since I had started socializing with her best friend, my relationship with her had been strained at best. As she sat there with a victor's smirk and a drunken blush across her cheeks, I could see right through her.

Anyhow, on that third day when I finally saw Rick walking out of the Clinic, I was so happy to see him that I hadn't even registered, according to the look on his face, that he might not be in the mood to talk at all.

" Rick!" I called his name and jogged over to him as soon as I had his attention. He looked towards me, but I became uneasy when he didn't greet me, didn't even _smile_ at me, when we stood face to face.

In a paranoid moment, I wondered if I had just imagined him coming by my farm to apologize for the other day. Could that have been a fabrication of my imagination, and was he still mad at me? Even though I had every reason to be just as angry with him, I still worried. Worse than that, what if all the gossip had gotten to him?

In the time that I had known him, one thing I had discovered about Rick was that he so easily took offense to the littlest things…

" So…where have you been the past few days?" I put these thoughts out of my mind, and decided to strike up a conversation with him anyway.

" I've been really busy," he said quietly, almost despondent in his reply. " I'm sorry that I haven't seen you, but I have to be get back home."

" …oh." I tried to hide my surprise, but I didn't really need to, because he walked past me before I really had a chance to answer him. I watched him as he left, and he looked back over his shoulder and held up a paper bag as he walked.

" I have to take this to my mother."

I just nodded and he rounded the bend. That had been odd, but I decided that perhaps he just needed a little time to himself. I mean, I had just been thinking about it, and I knew how he was. He would probably be fine after the rumors died down.

I knocked on the door of the clinic as I stepped inside, and Elli looked up from the reception desk. She greeted me with a smile.

" Hey, Claire. Is something the matter?"

" No." I strolled up to the desk.

After her standing up for me the other day, even though I knew it was possible that her intentions were partly self-interested, I had felt the need to do something to repay her for the things she had said in my favor after seeing me so upset. I took off my rucksack and sat it on the counter.

" I brought you some milk. It's still warm."

I had to chuckle at her surprised look.

" Oh! Claire, you didn't have to do that. Thank you!"

" I brought some herbs for the Doctor, too," I pulled them out of my bag and put them on the counter beside the milk, " so if you could give them to him, that would be great."

" Well," Elli looked up at me with pure gratitude, " thank you for thinking about us both this morning. Doctor just went upstairs, if you want to talk to him."

" That's ok, I won't bother him." I drummed my fingers on the table. I wanted to ask her if she had noticed anything odd about Rick, since he had just been in here talking to them, but I wasn't sure if it was my place. Elli, however, was an expert at reading expressions.

" Is something on your mind?"

" Actually…"

I leaned against the counter and lowered my voice. You could never tell if Jeff was in the other room, and unlike most people in the town, I for one didn't like to spread untrue facts.

" Elli," I spoke quietly, " …did anything happen just now? I mean…I saw Rick leaving, but he didn't have much to say to me. Is he…you know…"

" I wouldn't worry about him being mad at you. That's not the case at all."

I sighed and smirked. It was like she had read my mind. Before I could speak again, though, it became apparent that despite my efforts to be quiet, someone had indeed overheard my conversation with the nurse.

" The person that Rick is frustrated with is himself."

I turned around to see the owner of that deep, flat voice. The doctor was standing there with a medical dictionary under one arm, inviting himself into our conversation. I frowned at his confusing comment.

" I don't understand."

" Doctor, we shouldn't worry Claire." Elli objected, but he seemed to pay no serious mind.

" I'm not worrying. I'm informing." He smiled over my shoulder, then returned his attention to me. Elli mumbled something about the doctor/patient confidentiality agreement behind me.

" Well…is he ok?" I arched an eyebrow at the doc. If he was sick, at least that would explain his strange behavior, and at least I probably already knew the cause of it. Taking long walks in the rain when you're mad is not a healthy habit to get into.

" Rick was just picking up some new medicine I prescribed to Lillia. I had to make a house call this morning. This hasn't been one of her better days."

My stomach tightened when I heard this. I had never liked to hear about her health…it just bothered me to go over to the Poultry Farm and see her so cheery and happy, and know that she was really suffering behind closed doors. I knew I couldn't ask the Doctor what was actually wrong with her, though, because that really would be crossing the line of privacy and he could not, in good conscience, tell me.

I studied his expression for a brief moment, and for a moment I felt compassion for him. He had problems of his own, as I was fast discovering about many of the residents of Mineral Town. He was burdened with two patients that he seemingly could not do much for…Lillia, and his own nurse's grandmother. I had the pleasure of meeting Ellen just the other day. I was also sure that the complete trust Elli, Rick, and Popuri had put forth in the Doctor only added pressure to his job.

" Claire," Ellie's voice brought me back to reality. " About Rick…the next time you do see him, just send a kind word his way. That can do wonders for someone under that much pressure."

" You're right." I said softly, as I watched her take a tray of medicines from her desk into the next room.

" I'll see you later." I said as she left the room, and nodded to the doctor as I went towards the door. Before I left, I turned to face him. " Doctor?"

" Yes, Claire."

" You know you're doing a great job. Keep it up."

I smiled as his eyebrows shot up and for a moment, he looked as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He seemed almost proud for the first time since I'd come to town.

" Thank you."

Elli's advice really did have quite a bit of merit to it.

In no time, I was at the gate of the Poultry Farm. I had initially planned to spend the rest of my day in the mines; I had been talking to Gotz about an extension to my house, but as it turned out, I was nowhere near to having the proper funds to ask him for such labor.

What I was more interested in, though, was what was wrong with Rick…

Another A/N: Thanks for reading! I'd also like to note here that any interaction between Claire and The Doctor in this fanfic is purely platonic. Don't worry, Rick is where her interest lies. I just thought I'd sneak in a little character development for him, too, since he's another one of my favorite characters. And if you didn't think there was enough Rick in this chapter, don't worry…I was trying to set the stage, because chapter 3 will be all about him.


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